BEEF-STEAKS WITH FRIED POTATOES, or BIFTEK AUX POMMES-DE-TERRE (a la mode Francaise).
606. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of steak, 8 potatoes, 1/4 lb. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced herbs.
Mode.—Put the butter into a frying or sauté pan, set it over the fire, and let it get very hot; peel, and cut the potatoes into long thin slices; put them into the hot butter, and fry them till of a nice brown colour. Now broil the steaks over a bright clear fire, turning them frequently, that every part may be equally done: as they should not be thick, 5 minutes will broil them. Put the herbs and seasoning in the butter the potatoes were fried in, pour it under the steak, and place the fried potatoes round, as a garnish. To have this dish in perfection, a portion of the fillet of the sirloin should be used, as the meat is generally so much more tender than that of the rump, and the steaks should be cut about 1/3 of an inch in thickness.
Time.—5 minutes to broil the steaks, and about the same time to fry the potatoes. Average cost, 1s. per lb.
Sufficient for 4 persons.
Seasonable all the year; but not so good in warm weather, as the meat cannot hang to get tender.
[Illustration: AITCH-BONE OF BEEF.]
BOILED AITCH-BONE OF BEEF.
607. INGREDIENTS.—Beef, water.
Mode.—After this joint has been in salt 5 or 6 days, it will be ready for use, and will not take so long boiling: as a round, for it is not so solid. Wash the meat, and, if too salt, soak it for a few hours, changing the water once or twice, till the required freshness is obtained. Put into a saucepan, or boiling-pot, sufficient water to cover the meat; set it over the fire, and when it boils, plunge in the joint (see No. 557), and let it boil up quickly. Now draw the pot to the side of the fire, and let the process be very gradual, as the water must only simmer, or the meat will be hard and tough. Carefully remove the scum from the surface of the water, and continue doing this for a few minutes after it first boils. Carrots and turnips are served with this dish, and sometimes suet dumplings, which may be boiled with the beef. Garnish with a few of the carrots and turnips, and serve the remainder in a vegetable-dish.